Container rates surge by 16 per cent

The Drewry World Container Index (WCI) jumped 16 per cent to US$2,557 per 40-ft container for the week of Jan. 5-9.

Drewry said the increase was mainly due to rate hikes on Transpacific and Asia–Europe trade routes.

Spot rates on the Shanghai–Genoa went up 13 per cent to $3,885 per 40-ft container, while those on Shanghai–Rotterdam rose 10 per cent to US$2,840. This upward momentum was driven by higher freight-all-kinds rates implemented by carriers.

Spot rates on Shanghai to Los Angeles surged 26 per cent to US$3,132 per 40-ft container and those from Shanghai to New York jumped 20 per cent to $3,957.

Capacity rose seven to 10 per cent month-over-month on both Asia–North American routes and five to seven per cent on Asia–North Europe/Med routes in January, while anecdotal information points to soft volumes from Asia to the U.S., indicating that these large increases appear opportunistic and unlikely to last long.